A full version of the LiverpoolWorld Q&A.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 So Will, starting with Arnie Slott at Liverpool, obviously announced by Jurgen Klopp unofficially on the final day on the pitch.
00:08 Quite a nice moment for him and the Liverpool fans though. In terms of his challenges coming in, we've spoke about how much of a massive, massive job it is to continue Liverpool's success.
00:19 They don't want to go back down to that sort of Brendan Rodgers era where they sort of fell down a little bit.
00:25 They want to make sure they're still competing. What are his biggest challenges when he first comes in?
00:32 Yeah, that is it. You're precisely right. It's maintaining at a minimum what Jurgen Klopp's achieved and that ultimately is qualify for the Champions League every season,
00:40 compete for trophies and you have to judge Arnie Slott the same way that you judge Jurgen Klopp because Arnie Slott comes in and inherits a completely different set-up to Jurgen Klopp.
00:52 Jurgen Klopp's restored Liverpool's position at the top table in Europe for what he's achieved and Arnie Slott's got a lot going for him now.
01:01 And yeah, as you say, that's his biggest challenge. But in terms of on the pitch, you'll have to sort out Liverpool's defence because towards the end of the season it was porous.
01:12 I think they went about 10 games without conceding a clean sheet and then on the final day they got one against Wolves and they just conceded too many goals.
01:21 You look at Arsenal, their defensive record was magnificent throughout the season.
01:26 Chief reason why they managed to push Manchester City all the way to the final day in the title race.
01:31 So Arnie Slott's got some things that he needs to tweak and whether that's changing the centre-back partnership maybe because I think maybe a centre-back is mooted to come in.
01:43 Maybe that's getting a proper right back in and moving Trent Alexander out of midfield.
01:48 Maybe that's getting a new defensive midfielder in and dovetailing with Taro Enzo because Alexis McAllister plays a lot of games in that role.
01:55 But we've seen that he's better in a more advanced position.
01:59 So certainly that's the main thing that they have to look at.
02:04 And then maybe it's just about how Liverpool can maintain a Premier League title push and Champions League push as well.
02:13 And then all the cups as well and keeping the squad well balanced and happy because that's something that Jürgen Klopp managed to do.
02:20 He always managed to get the best out of the fringe players.
02:24 When they came in and cut competitions in the early rounds, they always delivered.
02:27 You only had to look in the past few seasons at the Premier League and FA Cup.
02:32 And that was because, mainly largely because of the squad players who did a job in those early rounds especially.
02:38 And Arnold Slott's going to have to do that himself. He's going to have to keep the whole squad happy.
02:43 The players who aren't playing maybe week in, week out on the more prominent games to keep them ready.
02:48 Because it is a small game in Liverpool, he's going to have a lot of fixtures coming and maybe more so than he's faced at Feyenoord.
02:55 So that's a big challenge in itself.
02:59 In terms of the transfer window, big summers Liverpool had in the last year as well.
03:06 One keep, one sell. I know it might be quite a tough position to say that now.
03:11 But who stands out, one to keep definitely and one to maybe sell this summer?
03:18 I think you've got to keep Trent Alexander-Arnold if we're talking about the players who maybe could go on saying that he will whatsoever.
03:25 But he's only got one year left on his deal.
03:29 And some people are looking at him and thinking, is he maybe looking for a new challenge potentially?
03:33 Why hasn't he signed a new contract? But he's one of the best players in the Wales in his position right back.
03:37 And it'll be interesting to see what Arnold Slott does, whether he thinks shallower movements in midfield.
03:43 Maybe if he has a good Euros playing in that role for England, that might be the catalyst to finally make it a permanent fixture.
03:49 Because seeing him play in a hybrid role, seeing him move into the middle of the path when Liverpool have been chasing games and maybe more effectively going forward, he might be better in the midfield.
04:00 But I say a year left on his deal. Real Madrid have reported admirers of him.
04:05 And sometimes it's difficult to turn down the lure of Real Madrid.
04:10 But he's without a future Liverpool captain for when Virgil van Dijk goes.
04:15 In terms of sales, personally, if a decent offer come in for Luis Diaz, I think Liverpool might look at it and think maybe we should take it.
04:26 Luis Diaz has been fantastic since he arrived, two and a half years ago from Porto.
04:31 And he had that bad leg, knee injury that set him back for about six months.
04:39 But the productivity hasn't quite been there in the final third.
04:45 He's effectively Sadio Mane's replacement and he's got goals and assists regularly.
04:52 Luis Diaz just doesn't quite do that. He's fantastic to get you off your seat.
04:57 He'll put defenders on the back four, so he'll get the ball to the byline.
05:01 But is he producing enough goals and assists yet?
05:05 You could argue no. It was great when he came in and he was doing that.
05:10 But I don't think that will come. But has it come quick enough? Maybe not.
05:15 And the reports that PSG are interested in Barcelona, a price tag of £75 million.
05:20 From what Liverpool paid, that would make them a substantial profit.
05:23 Would Liverpool maybe look at that and think, well, he's 26 now.
05:26 How much better is he going to get in the final third?
05:29 Do we look to take that cash in, make a nice profit and start the next project maybe?
05:36 So he would be interested. Obviously, Darwin Noones is another one whose future is looking a little bit up in the air.
05:41 He's ended the season out of the team. He hasn't looked happy towards the end of the season.
05:49 Is he going to ever quite click? He's had two years at the club now, but there's still plenty of attributes there.
05:55 So, yes, he might come good.
06:00 In terms of the European Championships, obviously, Liverpool have a fair few representatives there.
06:06 It's going to be an interesting one, especially for Trent Alexander-Arnold,
06:09 obviously chosen in the midfield selection for England.
06:13 It's going to be interesting. How do you see each of the players representing Liverpool getting on at these European Championships?
06:21 Yes, it's interesting because Liverpool fans traditionally don't care about England.
06:25 But I think Trent Alexander-Arnold playing in the middle of the path, it just intrigues you.
06:33 Because Liverpool fans, they want to see how he's going to get on.
06:36 There's still clamour from sessions of supporters that he should be playing there.
06:40 And they always want to justify and think, 'Rice, he can play there for England. Why can't he play there for Liverpool?'
06:45 So he's definitely an interesting one. In terms of the other Liverpool players in the fray,
06:49 obviously, Keir Starmer has been in the 33-man squad.
06:52 And Joe Gomez, maybe in terms of the full-back situation, Joe Gomez might get the nod.
06:57 Djalot Kwanzaa as well is in the mix in terms of centre-backs.
07:01 I personally think Jones and Kwanzaa will be struck off when Gareth Southgate has to make his decisions.
07:08 Then you look at Holland, they've got Virgil van Dijk and Kody Gaffau in there.
07:13 And Ryan Gravenberk has also been included in the initial squad.
07:19 Whether he makes it or not, we don't know.
07:21 And then you look at other players like Ibrahim Kanata, who ended the season in pretty poor form
07:27 after he had an injury around the time of the international break.
07:30 He actually lost his starting back to Djalot Kwanzaa in the final few games.
07:35 Diogo Diotta, back from injury, he'll be representing Portugal.
07:42 Andy Robertson, of course, is captain in Scotland, which will be really interesting.
07:48 And Ben Dope, the 18-year-old winger, has been included in their provisional squad as well.
07:52 Ben Dope, another one who hasn't played since December when he had a knee injury.
07:57 But he's a player that Liverpool think highly of.
07:59 I think he's played 12 times for the first team so far, three in the Premier League.
08:04 He's someone who does get you off your feet when he plays.
08:08 There's a lot of excitement around Ben Dope.
08:11 I'm sure there's a couple I've missed off.
08:13 And then obviously the Kop of America as well.
08:15 You've got Alisson Becker going there with Brazil.
08:17 And Luis Diaz for Colombia.
08:19 Alexis McAllister with Argentina.
08:23 And I'm sure there's one more I've missed off as well.
08:26 Luis Diaz for Colombia and Dava Nunes of Uruguay.
08:29 So it's going to be plenty busy for Liverpool fans.
08:31 They want to keep an eye on some of the players who are going to be in their respective tournaments.
08:36 And they'll be praying that there's no injuries.
08:39 Because when they get back, Arnish will have to be playing that because he wants as much time as he can to work with them and get his ideas on these players.
08:47 Well, in terms of Everton, obviously, Sean Darch has spoken a few times about the summer window and how much Everton can spend and whether they have to sell.
08:56 Is there any sort of idea of how the window might pan out for Everton?
09:03 And if you were to keep one player and sell one player, who would that sort of be in Everton colours this summer?
09:10 Yeah, I think Sean Darch has described it as juggling sands.
09:14 It is going to be difficult with the financial situation, the takeover situation.
09:18 It's not great in terms of recruitments.
09:20 Him and director of football, Kevin Feller, are going to have to work cut hours again.
09:24 We've looked at the current squad now.
09:26 They've got one senior winger on the books in Dwight McNeil.
09:29 Jack Harrison's gone back to Leeds.
09:32 I'm not saying he's going to be at Villarreal.
09:34 Everton have come out and openly said that they're in discussions with Leeds and they'll continue.
09:38 So quite clearly, Everton would like Jack Harrison back.
09:42 But even still, they need probably two more wingers, to be quite frank, because those two probably play too many games.
09:48 We've got Lewis Dobbin, young, 21-year-old. But is he ready for the Premier League on a week-in, week-out basis?
09:55 Probably not. He probably needs a loan in the Championship, really, in fairness to him.
09:59 So that's definitely on the priority list.
10:02 The centre midfielder and a left-back to provide cover for Tally McElhenney.
10:07 In all terms, if you keep one, sell, it's a really interesting one, because Kevin Feller has come out and said that Everton will have to sell.
10:15 And they might have to sell one of the prize assets.
10:19 I think looking at the squads, Jordan Pickford will stay.
10:22 So then you're looking at Jarrod Bramfwaite, Amadou Ounane, and Dominic Albert-Lewin.
10:26 And you can make arguments for all different three.
10:29 Jarrod Bramfwaite will earn you the most money, without a doubt.
10:33 And Everton will earn a lot of profits on him, because they paid around £1 million from Carl Islay for him.
10:38 But he's a fantastic centre-back. His price tag's only going to go up, undoubtedly.
10:43 Amadou Ounane, coming from Lille for £33 million.
10:49 He's shown flashes over his two years, but has he done enough?
10:55 You can see him being a player that will be sold.
10:58 He's meant to have a lot of admirers. You could see him going and kicking on somewhere else.
11:03 And would Everton think, "Why couldn't he do it there? Can we get the best out of him?"
11:07 And Dominic Albert-Lewin has a year left on his contract.
11:13 Everton cashing on now, maybe risking losing for free next summer.
11:16 But it's difficult to replace forwards. And we're seeing towards the end of the season,
11:19 Dominic Albert-Lewin can be an absolute battering ram.
11:22 So personally, if it was me, I would probably maybe look to offload Amadou Ounane.
11:28 I think keeping Jarrod Bramfwaite for one more year.
11:32 Centre-backs are probably the easiest position to replace, but his price tag is only going to go up.
11:37 And that will mean that Everton's bargain of power in the years' time will only be stronger.
11:43 And in the long term, it might be better for the financial situation.